Game News Pyrodactyl Games' new Kickstarter - Late To The Party, a Cold War espionage RPG

[Infinitron]

Tags: Late To The Party; Pyrodactyl Games

Pyrodactyl Games, developers of Unrest, launched the Kickstarter campaign for their next game today. It's called Late To The Party, and it's a "Cold War espionage RPG", where you play a KGB agent in the Baltics during the final days of the Soviet Union. Like Unrest, it appears to be a story and dialogue-focused CYOA-ish thing. Here's the pitch:

Late to the Party is an espionage RPG about the struggles, fears, and turmoil of the oppressed during the dying days of the Soviet Union. Use your contacts, tools, and wits to stay alive in the midst of a dangerous historically-inspired conspiracy.

• Play it safe and fudge the facts, or stick your neck out to uncover every last link of the conspiracy in a branching storyline.
• Use your character traits, KGB spy tools, and improvised equipment to cover your tracks and further the investigation.
• Balance your allegiances and always cover your tracks if you want to stay alive.
• See the Baltics come to life with locally inspired art and music.
• Enjoy dialogue and scenarios dripping with dark humor from the makers of Unrest, a critically acclaimed narrative RPG funded via Kickstarter.
• Full mod support lets you create your own worlds and adventures.
• Late to the Party will be available DRM-Free on multiple digital stores, without any DLC or microtransactions.

Setting

1991. The Baltics have suffered the casual contempt of Communist occupiers for more than half a century. Goods are scarce, jobs are reserved for Russian transplants, and a bottle of liquor in the right hands could mean the difference between safety and death for your family.

Resources are stretched thin. The oppressed are striking back. And those in power are growing increasingly desperate.

You are a local woman groomed by the KGB to investigate your own country. Your smarts, drive, and history of criminal behavior make you an ideal recruit - assuming you remain loyal to your crafty superiors, your power-mad coworkers, and the crooks that make up your intelligence network.

Revolution is brewing. With the right information, you can be the Soviets' greatest agent - but with the right reason to fight, you might just be their greatest miscalculation.
​

Late To The Party's funding goal is 50,000 Canadian dollars, and its estimated release date is October 2015. For more screenshots and information, check out the Pyrodactyl website. You might also be interested in this "Postmortem Postmortem" for Unrest, which explains why Late To The Party's funding goal is so much higher than Unrest's. Let's hope they make it - it's not every day that you get an RPG that lets you play as a Lithuanian hitwoman.

 

[Peter]

I wonder if these guys have done any research on the setting beyond reading a Wikipedia article and checking the Tallinn old town in Google street view. It seems way off. Evokes Brezhnev-era Russia or something rather than early 90s Baltics. And I don't know how I feel about them setting it in the city of "Lindalin", obviously based on Tallinn, and then claiming it to be a big generalization about the Baltics even though I don't see anything Latvian or Lithuanian in there.

So it's just more Soviet kitsch coming from people who have not done their homework. It's weird cause I enjoyed it in Papers, Please, but maybe that's because the setting there was a lot more generalized, stereotypical and clearly satirical. Or maybe I'm just a hypocrite who didn't care when the Balkans were misrepresented, but do when it's the part of the world I'm from.

Sorry for sperging, it's just diappointing to see (what I think is) basically the first attempt to show the Baltics in vidya to get it so wrong.

 

[MicoSelva]

I was hoping their next project would draw more from mythology of India, which is very rich and underrepresented in media. Cold war is an interesting topic too, but much more covered. Somewhat disappointed.

 

[Sam Ecorners]

I wonder if these guys have done any research on the setting beyond reading a Wikipedia article and checking the Tallinn old town in Google street view. It seems way off. Evokes Brezhnev-era Russia or something rather than early 90s Baltics. And I don't know how I feel about them setting it in the city of "Lindalin", obviously based on Tallinn, and then claiming it to be a big generalization about the Baltics even though I don't see anything Latvian or Lithuanian in there.

So it's just more Soviet kitsch coming from people who have not done their homework. It's weird cause I enjoyed it in Papers, Please, but maybe that's because the setting there was a lot more generalized, stereotypical and clearly satirical. Or maybe I'm just a hypocrite who didn't care when the Balkans were misrepresented, but do when it's the part of the world I'm from.

Sorry for sperging, it's just diappointing to see (what I think is) basically the first attempt to show the Baltics in vidya to get it so wrong.

Or you could read the KS page and learn that their lead artist is Estonian from Tallinn.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Wallet's tight right now, but good luck pyroary.

 

[Peter]

Or you could read the KS page and learn that their lead artist is Estonian from Tallinn.

Admittedly, I just skimmed over the KS and didn't catch that, but that doesn't invalidate what I'm saying. If you want to go down that route, I grew up in Riga and am currently in Tallinn, whoopdy doo. He's misrepresenting. Maybe pressure from the largely western team to make it feel more stereotypically Soviet, maybe he hasn't looked into his own country's history. I'm just speculating here, obviously, but the fact remains that from the (admittedly very limited) material shown so far, the dude seems to be doing a very poor job of capturing the vibe of 90s Baltics.

 

[cherry blossom]

The art has sort of a board-piece feel but it doesn't quite work in my opinion. And they "invested in better art" this time. Such a shame.

 

[stony3k]

Or you could read the KS page and learn that their lead artist is Estonian from Tallinn.

Admittedly, I just skimmed over the KS and didn't catch that, but that doesn't invalidate what I'm saying. If you want to go down that route, I grew up in Riga and am currently in Tallinn, whoopdy doo. He's misrepresenting. Maybe pressure from the largely western team to make it feel more stereotypically Soviet, maybe he hasn't looked into his own country's history. I'm just speculating here, obviously, but the fact remains that from the (admittedly very limited) material shown so far, the dude seems to be doing a very poor job of capturing the vibe of 90s Baltics.

Here's what pyroary said in the comments at http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=24910

Our game is set in a fictionalized version of Estonia, which had a slightly different situation–but you are correct in noting disparities in our premise and how things historically went down. These were taken on the advisement of our Estonian team member, Mikk Luige, and are an extrapolation of genuine historical factors.

 

[Xzar]

Meh. The only thing they got right is Volga car. The rest of art is very unrealistic. People are dressed as they were in Sweden or other Northern Europe of that time, but surely not USSR. Also, too much alcohol on shelves. Its was under the bars mostly.

 

[pyroary]

ERYFKRAD Thanks!

About the historical accuracy stuff, we're going to be posting more about our inspirations and style in an upcoming Kickstarter update. That being said, none of us pressured our Estonian team member into making the game western! A lot of the fictionalization was done by Mikk to avoid the game resembling one specific place, as all of this stuff is relatively recent history and a touchy subject. We certainly didn't mean any disrespect!

 

[cvv]

The art has sort of a board-piece feel but it doesn't quite work in my opinion. And they "invested in better art" this time. Such a shame.

Problem is if they wanted to capture the real vibe of a country in a late stage of socialism the art would have to be all bleak, dismal, dreary and grey. I'm not sure if that would make for a particularly engaging game (then again maybe the Westerners would find it interesting for all I know).

 

[Ovplain]

'Late to the party'? Quite an appropriate name for a kickstarter these days.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

is relatively recent history and a touchy subject. We certainly didn't mean any disrespect!

As a baltic spy, will I have soft feelings towards fascism, kill students at rallies and claim it was KGB in order to give my people a little push towards violence, then go to Europe to work as plumber and say that my life is ruined because of soviet heritage?

 

[pyroary]

As a baltic spy, will I have soft feelings towards fascism, kill students at rallies and claim it was KGB in order to give my people a little push towards violence, then go to Europe to work as plumber and say that my life is ruined because of soviet heritage?

The player in this game is certainly not represented as a heroic figure - similar to Unrest, they are a troubled person in troubled times doing immoral things. The game can be about their comeuppance too if you play it that way.

 

[cherry blossom]

The art has sort of a board-piece feel but it doesn't quite work in my opinion. And they "invested in better art" this time. Such a shame.

Problem is if they wanted to capture the real vibe of a country in a late stage of socialism the art would have to be all bleak, dismal, dreary and grey. I'm not sure if that would make for a particularly engaging game (then again maybe the Westerners would find it interesting for all I know).

No, I mean that the art style they are going for leaves much to be desired. There is a sort of inconsistency and lack of a unifying vision. Has board-piece feel but characters and environments and menus don't come together. Like things were put together in flash with an amateurish haste.

 

[SuicideBunny]

mhm, no paypal, no pledge.

 

[pyroary]

mhm, no paypal, no pledge.

We can only introduce Paypal pledges once we're funded 100%, because Paypal pledges are instant (unlike Kickstarter, where you're not charged if the project isn't funded).

 

[mindx2]

mhm, no paypal, no pledge.

We can only introduce Paypal pledges once we're funded 100%, because Paypal pledges are instant (unlike Kickstarter, where you're not charged if the project isn't funded).

Any boxed copies being made.....? :D

 

[Starwars]

Seems like the money is coming in rather slowly unfortunately. Hope it can pick up.

 

[pyroary]

Any boxed copies being made.....? :D

It is definitely on the cards, keep an eye out on the Kickstarter page.

For the art style, our artist posted an update today showing where some of the levels in the trailer come from. Read it here.

Seems like the money is coming in rather slowly unfortunately. Hope it can pick up.

Yeah, unfortunately. We're going to start emailing the press again starting Monday, hopefully that will speed it up.

 

[HiddenX]

RPGWatch interview

 

[Burning Bridges]

I grew up in East Germany.

What I see doesn't click for me. In fact it looks very stupid and corny.
Why did you go for a setting that you have no first had information about? It seems you think having a Volga in the game makes it look super authentic, but it doesn't.

What would you say if I made a game about life in India? If I include a few authentic cars and buildings and the rest just bullshit?

A lot of the fictionalization was done by Mikk to avoid the game resembling one specific place, as all of this stuff is relatively recent history and a touchy subject. We certainly didn't mean any disrespect!

Mikk looks like he is barely 25 years old and born around 1990. Do you even realize that he is as clueless about socialist life as someone living in India?
All people born after 1985 who I know know more (and also have more interested) about WW2 that about the socialist era. It seems like it was not a topic in school, and they don't give a shit. They grew up with Nutella, Tamagochi and Mercedes and cannot understand how someone could queue up for bananas.
When you sell me a 25 year old as an expert I call bullshit, unless he has extensively studied and researched the topic.

 

[pyroary]

By Baltic states, we only really meant Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. East Germany isn't going to be in the game, but I can understand why you seem...not very pleased. Someone from Ukraine/Bulgaria/etc is of course going to feel this setting is wrong.

Also, we never said Mikk as an expert in the academic sense - the same way I am not an expert in Indian history. Maybe his frame of reference is several years ahead of yours, on top of other differences between Estonia and East Germany - but we did talk to a lot of people from Estonia about the setting and read a lot of books. We don't have a degree to prove it, but we're absolutely not just using this setting without doing our homework.

 

[Infinitron]

Mikk looks like he is barely 25 years old and born around 1990.

wait, what

 

[Burning Bridges]

By Baltic states, we only really meant Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. East Germany isn't going to be in the game, but I can understand why you seem...not very pleased. Someone from Ukraine/Bulgaria/etc is of course going to feel this setting is wrong.

I don't know if you are deliberately misunderstanding me. I did not say it does not look like East Germany. I did say it looks incredibly corny.